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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) continues to make plans to improve the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, and recent tweaks to the overhaul project would remove the exit leading to Amalie Arena.
Exit 6B, which currently exits to Channelside Drive in front of the arena, would move northeast under the new project and exit to Whiting Street.
This would eliminate a pain point during downtown events such as Lightning games, which lead to heavy traffic at the five-way intersection near the arena.
Exit 6A would also be lengthened and widened as part of the development plan.
The plan still requires approval before design and construction can begin. THEA will need to complete the Whiting Street Project Development and Environment study in the spring or summer of this year before getting final approval from the board and then acquire funding for the project from the Florida Department of Transportation, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
An agency spokesperson told the Business Journal the original concept was projected to cost $55.3 million, but no updated cost for the project exists after the recent changes.
